House and House

Zechariah’s scroll brings curses to those who “steal” and “swear falsely in My name” (5:3-4).  Those same sins appear together in Leviticus 19, and also, significantly, in Jeremiah 7:9.  There, Jeremiah lists thieves and false swearers among the “robbers” who have made the temple their den. Yahweh’s house is going to be destroyed as a result of their sins.

In Zechariah too there is a threat against houses.  The curses will light on the houses of thieves and false swearers, will remain in the house and will “consume it with its timber and stones” (NASB).  Zechariah does not have the temple in view, which is not yet completed.  The houses that will be destroyed are the houses/families of those who violate the covenant.  If Israel does not keep covenant, the repetition of Shiloh’s destruction that Jeremiah prophesied is going to be repeated yet again.  Houses will be destroyed, with neither stone nor timber remaining.

Zechariah reinforces the connection of the corruption of the temple and the corruption of other houses by using the verb kalah, translated as “consume” in the NASB.  The word also means “complete” or “finish,” and describes the completion of creation’s temple (Genesis 2:1), the tabernacle (Exodus 39:32), and the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 7:1).  Instead of reaching completion, the houses of thieves and false swearers will be completely ruined.